This invention relates generally to an exercise firing projectile having an elongated casing with a rupturable cap at one end, a coaxial hollow tube within the casing extending toward the cap, the tube defining an annular space with the inner wall of the casing. Clusters of stacked pyrotechnic fragmentation devices are located in the such annular space, and the casing contains an ejection charge which, when ignited, effects rupture of the cap allowing the devices to be expelled from the one end of the projectile casing.
Firing projectiles containing such framentation devices, oir bomblets, are used primarily to defend against armored vehicles. The projectile is fired by a gun or missile to a point that is, for example, 300 to 400 meters above the target at which point an ejection charge ejects or releases about 50 to 90 bomblets from the projectile casing. The bomblets then drop to the ground individually and dispurse over an area of about 50 to 100 meters. The bomblets contain a shaped charge and a percussion fuse, so that they ignite when impacting, for example, an armored vehicle to thereby pierce the armor plate.
The testing of such firing projectiles is presently carried out by removing either the percussion fuse or the shaped charge from the bomblets. While this permits safe testing of, for example, the effectiveness of the ejected charge as well s the functioning of the percussion fuses and similar components, it prevents exercises from approximating live situations, since the functional characteristics of a detonation cloud, a flash of light and an explosive sound are missing and since, moreover, safe handling is made difficult if the explosive is to be tested.